


Bed of Pyres

by flxmelxnce



Category: Granblue Fantasy (Video Game)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pillow & Blanket Forts, dumbasses being dumbasses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25217731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flxmelxnce/pseuds/flxmelxnce
Summary: Nezha discovers what a pillow fort is, and decides to make one for his primal companion.
Relationships: Baal/Nezha (Granblue Fantasy)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 18





	Bed of Pyres

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on a dumb nezha grind right now, so might as well continue with it amiright fellas-

"A pillow fort, you say?"

The little girl nodded at the dual elemental primal beast crouching down in front of her, a stack of books in one of his armoured hands whilst the other remained on his chin in curiosity.

He had ventured back to the small village that he had saved from a fire not long ago, deciding to spend some time reading the rest of the books encased in their hidden library. He had some time to spare, after all. Baal had gone out on a mission, which meant that Nezha didn't have much to do without his companion around.

The wind primal let out a discreet sigh-- he hoped Baal would come back soon. But knowing him and his teasing smirk before he left Nezha on the Grandcypher ship, saying something along the lines of " _it would do you good to have some time alone_ "-- Nezha knew that Baal would most likely take his time coming back.

And that certainly proved to be true by the glowing amber sun that made its journey below the skies, drowning the fading cerulean landscape with a piercing coral colour.

The young girl who had approached the primal beast as he was preparing to leave was particularly enthusiastic about the approaching night, however. And while Nezha did enjoy the dark hours himself for a plethora of reasons, the child in front of him seemed to have something else in mind that differed greatly from what his usual nighttime routines were.

"It's where you stack up pillows and blankets to build a fort!" She exclaimed with strong gestures of her arms. "You can use chairs too to help keep it up!"

"I see..." Nezha murmured, chuckling a bit from the girl's enthusiasm. He carefully picked her up with his free arm, letting the child sit on his forearm before slowly raising his body temperature. It was getting cold after all, and he didn't want a child risking their health just to talk to him and inform him more about the nature of human life. "However, what purpose does the fort serve?"

"It's cozy and fun!" She grinned. "We eat cookies and read together in the fort! And then we fall asleep!"

Nezha blinked in surprise. It was certainly different from the forts he learned about from reading war strategies. Those ones provided temporary shelter for the soldiers fighting in the war, while _this_ one was purely for entertainment, and seemed to be rather popular with the younger children.

_What fascinating things the humans come up with._

"I believe I understand now," Nezha nodded, smirking when the young girl grinned at him. "Thank you for your explanation, I'll make good use out of it."

"Are you going to build a pillow fort, Mister?"

Nezha hummed, chuckling as he set the youth back onto the ground. "Perhaps I will, I have some time to spare." He gently ruffled the girl's hair, earning himself a few giggles in reply. "Now run along now, the longer you stay here the longer your fort will remain unoccupied."

It was as if the young child hadn't even realized it herself, her eyes widening in shock before she abruptly turned on her heel and sprinted off back towards her home-- but not before waving her farewells to the primal clad in ebony armour, a bold smile on her lips before she disappeared into her household.

And now, it was time for Nezha to depart. With a most important task he had to do as well.

* * *

"How should I go about doing this..." Nezha mumbled to himself, standing in the middle of his room. 

He had already prepared the other factors of a pillow fort; those being dressing in somewhat comfortable clothes (he assumed the turtleneck and pants he wore when posing as a human would suffice) and making drinks and snacks for the occasion-- a plate of cookies in one hand and a cup of coffee and tea in the other (Baal was never one to like the bitterness of coffee).

But now, he had to prepare the actual pillow fort. And without much instruction, Nezha was left feeling a bit stuck on where to start.

"I don't believe I have enough pillows to build a sustainable one..." He trailed off, blinking before the sudden realization came to him. He set aside the snacks on his desk, then proceeded to walk out of his room and to the one across from his. Baal's room.

Nezha turned the handle to the door. Locked.

As expected of Baal.

He blinked once, twice, before turning the nob again with a bit more force-- effectively breaking the lock and for the wooden barrier to creak open in defeat.

Nezha could already hear Baal's complaints about breaking his door again.

"If you're so insistent on me not breaking your door, you should give me a spare key," he replied to a nonexistent Baal, chuckling as he carefully entered the earth primal's lodging.

Nezha tended to frequent Baal's room more so than his own, and the condition of the small alcove seemed to reflect that. There were some of the wind primal's books stacked in a corner in disorderly pillars, as well as some of his shirts and scarfs scattered around the floor. The earth primal's desk contained his latest compositions and sheet music, and here and there were also remnants of Nezha's most recent letters he had written to him.

But what Nezha's eyes were trained on were the stacks of pillows atop Baal's bed. His music companion had always been one to prioritize comfort, not to mention having a feline pet who favoured soft cushions.

Nezha nodded to himself, this would do nicely.

He brought the snacks and drinks from his room to Baal's, placing them on the side before also retrieving a chair from his lodging. He placed the wooden seat to the left of Baal's bed, then took the chair that was already in his companion's room and placed it on the right. He draped a sheet over each chair, before covering both of the seats with a much larger blanket to act as an overhang.

"I'm not sure if I'm doing things correctly but..." Nezha mumbled to himself, laying down a thick duvet in the gap between the chairs. "There's always room for improvement, or so they say." He grunted out, snatching Baal's plethora of pillows and arranging them in an orderly fashion inside of the fort-- leaning them against the foot of Baal's bed as well as against the wooden legs of the chairs.

Nezha dusted his hands off, humming as he scanned over his handiwork in careful concentration.

It was dark, he realized after a moment, letting out a quiet noise of dissatisfaction. He could see fine with his eyesight that was meant to be able to adapt to dark surroundings quickly, but he doubted that Baal could enjoy the scenery of the pillow fort without additional lighting.

With a quiet tsk, the wind primal glanced around Baal's room, spotting a lantern amongst the clutter on his companion's desk. He took the metal light source into his hand, effortlessly snapping his fingers to alight a small flame atop of the candle inside. With a satisfactory nod, he carefully set the lantern inside of the fort, which was followed shortly by the plate of cookies and the two beverage cups.

Perfect.

"Now the final piece..." Nezha hummed, walking back to his room and retrieving a rather thick looking blanket from a bag that he had set aside previously. A weighted blanket, as he had come to learn, was seemingly popular with the skydwellers as of late. And seeing as how he was building a pillow fort, Nezha had decided to pick one up on his way back to the Grandcypher ship.

A gift for Baal, so to say. Nezha obviously didn't need one, considering he was part fire primal and barely even slept for that matter. And since Baal seemed to like items that were comforting, Nezha deemed it a well enough gift to present to his partner.

_He hoped Baal would like it._

However, just as Nezha was exiting his room, he found a stray purple cat at the entrance to Baal's room.

Nezha's brow perked in surprise. He wasn't expecting the guest so soon, but thankfully he finished the pillow fort already. "Hanni-" He cut himself off, registering the feline's flattened ears as he forlornly stared at the broken doorknob, his blade-like tail swishing back and forth in what seemed like disdain.

Ah. _Not_ Hannibal.

"Baal," he called out instead, and his companion turned his head at the mention of his name, his feline eyes slitting even more at the sight of Nezha.

"Care to explain why my doorknob's broken? _Again_?" He spoke through Hannibal, slowly padding over to the wind primal.

"It was urgent," Nezha replied simply, tucking the weighted blanket under one arm as he picked up Baal by the other-- letting the music primal lean against his chest. "How was your mission? Are you hurt? At the very least you must be tired, considering you've taken to being inside Hannibal's form."

"You always say that even when it's not urgent," Baal sighed, flicking his tail. "It went fine. Only minor injuries that were easy to heal." Baal paused before answering Nezha's last comment, unconsciously nuzzling his face closer to the dual elemental's much more warmer body. "It's been a while since I've been sent out, so maybe."

Baal's ears craned when Nezha entered the former's room, crimson red eyes staring at Nezha's most recent accomplishment. "What's that?" He asked, worming out of the wind primal's grasp to pad over to the pillow fort, sticking his head inside through the small gap in the large sheet.

"A pillow fort," Nezha explained, parting the blanket to let Baal crawl inside. "A young human girl explained it to me at the village. It's supposed to be for entertainment, but also comfort. I thought you would rather enjoy it after coming back from a mission." He mused, sitting down beside Baal.

Baal looked around, long curved ears flicking at the arrangement. "It's... not bad," he hummed after a moment, before turning towards the plate of cookies and beverages.

Nezha followed his companion's gaze, chuckling. "Are you still well enough to change back?" He asked, petting Baal's head and hearing a soft purr in reply. "I doubt you can eat and drink properly while inside Hannibal. But I can save these for later if you want to rest first."

Baal hesitated, seemingly weighing his options before letting out a sigh. A dust of purple mist clouded the inside of the fort, fizzing around Baal as he changed back into his regular form. And when it cleared, the earth primal sat in his pajamas-- an oversized t-shirt with his boxers and Hannibal in his arms. And upon being back in control, Hannibal eagerly leapt over to Nezha, purring at the dual elemental and demanding for pets with gentle nuzzles of his head against Nezha's hand.

Nezha laughed, giving a few scratches behind the purple feline's ears before turning towards Baal with a raised brow, blinking as he tugged at Baal's sleeve with his free hand. "My shirt?" He asked, amused. A redundant question really, considering it was far too oversized for Baal.

"Shut up," Baal grunted, batting Nezha's hand away as the latter grinned. "It's more comfortable."

Nezha watched as his companion reached for his designated cup of tea, holding it in his hands for a moment before nudging it towards the dual elemental. "It's gotten cold."

"Ah, my apologizes. I hadn't realized I took that much time building the fort," Nezha frowned. He placed his hand around the other side of the cup, a red glow emitting from his palm that transferred to the ceramic and then to the liquid contained inside the mug. It wasn't a moment longer until steam began to escape from the tea once again, and Nezha slowly retracted his hand, giving a curt nod of his head. "Careful," he told Baal, reaching over to heat up his own mug and the plate of cookies, glancing at his primal companion all the while to make sure he didn't burn himself.

After the first sip of tea, Baal seemed to have relaxed his shoulders, sinking his body further into the pillows and cushions. "So _this_ was the urgent thing you had to break my door for?" He asked, accepting Nezha's offer of a freshly warmed cookie.

Nezha nodded. "I know you have a rather good collection of pillows to use, so I made myself at home." He mustered down his chuckle at seeing Baal frown, leaning back against the pillows with his own mug of coffee in hand and Hannibal pleasantly curled up in his lap. "Do you not like it?" He asked, a tinge of concern in his voice.

Baal paused, humming as he looked around the fort again, chewing on a bite of the sweet dessert. "No, it's fine. I... appreciate it," he mumbled out after swallowing, a tinge of pink on his cheeks. "Just... don't break into my room. _Again_."

Nezha grinned, leaning closer to Baal with an expectant look in his blue gaze. "You should really consider giving me a spare key then," he mused.

Baal narrowed his eyes at the wind primal, crimson eyes glancing down at Nezha's lips before he let out a long sigh. "Not a chance," he chuckled, leaning in to press a kiss to Nezha's lips. "Thank you, though. I like it."

Nezha felt his chest warm, unsure whether it came from the kiss or Baal's words of gratitude. Either way, he swooped in to steal another kiss from Baal, pecking him on the lips before placing another on the bridge of his nose.

And then he stole a bite from Baal's cookie.

" _Wh_ -"

"I adjusted the sugar to fit your tastes," Nezha mused through chewing, brows furrowing. "I didn't taste one beforehand however... Perhaps I should've added more..."

He glanced back at Baal, blinking at his companion's dumbfounded expression. "You made a _whole plate_ , Nezha. If you're going to try one, don't take a bite out of mine!" Baal hissed with little to no venom, punching Nezha in the arm.

Nezha merely laughed at Baal's actions, noticing the earth primal fighting down his own smile at the dual elemental's playfulness. "Come now, Baal. You can indulge your lover a bit, no? The whole plate's for you, one bite from me is nothing," he hummed in amusement, taking a sip of coffee.

Baal scoffed at him, mumbling something under his breath that Nezha was sure was a curse before his companion changed the subject. "What did you go into your room to get?" He asked, beckoning with his head to the weighted blanket next to the wind primal.

Nezha mumbled a small " _whoops_ ", having forgotten about the gift when he saw Baal outside the door. He set his mug aside, unfolding the blanket and carefully draping it over Baal's shoulders. "I heard that weighted blankets were popular these days, and thought that you may like one," he explained, watching the opposing primal beast curiously tug at the article. "It's heavier than most regular blankets, and thus the added pressure provides additional warmth and comfort to the user-- or so I've heard."

Baal only hummed in response, finishing the last bit of cookie he had before washing it down with his tea.

Nezha frowned. "Is it not to your liking?"

The music primal shook his head, "it's not that... I _do_ like it but..." He narrowed his eyes as if in thought, slowly turning to face the dual elemental and reaching out to tug at the latter's sleeve. "I don't get why you would get me this when _you_ pretty much serve the same purpose..." he slowly mumbled out, an embarrassed red lining his cheeks that he tried to mask away as he drank from his cup.

Nezha was frozen still; he blinked once, twice, before a small smirk graced his lips-- which in turn made Baal sink further into the cushions and pillows in a futile attempt to escape Nezha's gaze. "Is this you admitting you find comfort in my presence, Baal?" He teased, idly combing a hand through Hannibal's fur.

Baal scowled at his grin, but gave a reluctant sigh in response. "Why wouldn't I?" He stated all too matter-of-factly, throwing the wind primal off. Baal caught sight of Nezha's stunned expression, letting out an amused huff before he casually leaned his head against the dual elemental's side-- which the latter almost immediately responded to by securing an arm around Baal's shoulders, bringing him closer to his chest and raising his body temperature, and Baal let out a content hum at the warmth.

"You always think you're the most dangerous thing to exist in the skies yet you go ahead and do things like this--" Baal gestured to the pillow fort, a small chuckle slipping past his lips-- "I welcome your presence all the time, even if I don't show it all that often."

Nezha stared at Baal, silent throughout his explanation. It was strange-- no, _Baal_ was strange for finding comfort in the presence of someone like Nezha. The wind primal couldn't really process the idea of being seen like that, being seen as a person of warmth rather than power. But he liked the fact that, at the very least, he didn't scare Baal. The mere thought of Baal being scared of him always made Nezha feel fear, as strange as it was for someone like him to feel that emotion when he was constantly brimming with confidence and pride. 

Strange how he used to not care about humans and primals alike being afraid of him, yet this one singular person changed that.

"I see," was all that managed to escape Nezha's throat, absentmindedly pulling Baal closer. "I'm glad then," he hummed, letting a small smile grace his lips.

He heard a scoff from Baal and he chuckled to himself, which prompted a pillow to be slapped against his chest. "I want to sleep, so be quiet," Baal grunted, setting aside his mug and settling the cushion between his head and Nezha's chest.

The wind primal blinked at his companion. "Why do you need a pillow?"

"You're really asking that when you're made of pure muscle?" Baal huffed.

Nezha's lips thinned. "Your neck's going to be sore like that," he voiced in concern. And before Baal could manage a word of protest, Nezha effortlessly picked Baal up into his arms, letting Hannibal scamper off his lap before placing the earth primal down on his thighs. He adjusted the blanket on his companion's shoulders, making sure it was tightly secured around Baal's body while Hannibal leapt up to rest on Nezha's shoulder. "Is this better?" He asked, gently pushing Baal's head to lean against his chest, taking the pillow from earlier and handing it to his partner.

Baal's face was tinted with pink, grumbling something that Nezha couldn't hear besides the word " _bastard_ " before he took the pillow the wind primal handed to him. But instead of placing it in between him and Nezha, he simply hugged it in his arms and let out a sigh. "It's fine," he mumbled, glaring at Hannibal when the feline playfully batted his paw on his owner's head.

Nezha only nodded, securely wrapping his arms around Baal and placing a soft kiss atop his head. "Rest for as long as you'd like. Neither I nor the fort will be going anywhere."

He heard Baal let out a quiet grumble, shifting a bit before his muscles finally relaxed. But it seemed like the earth primal was a bit more tired than he was initially letting on, his crimson eyes already drooping as he rested against Nezha. Though, his gaze momentarily went to the small lantern set aside in the pillow fort, and Nezha got the hint-- outstretching a hand and snapping his fingers to diminish the flame inside, leaving them completely in the dark.

Baal hummed in appreciation, nestling his head further into Nezha's chest and closing his eyes. Hannibal also followed suit, clambering off of the dual elemental's shoulder to haphazardly lay atop of Baal's lap, with his owner letting out a small grunt at the added weight. But not a moment after did Nezha hear his companion's breathing even out, a sign that he had fallen into slumber.

Nezha smiled at this, pressing another quick kiss to Baal's forehead before resting his chin atop his head. His arms unconsciously tightened around Baal's smaller figure, relishing his companion's presence in his embrace.

He never knew that such a minuscule thing like a pillow fort could illuminate such warmth in his core.

**Author's Note:**

> hope y'all enjoyed !! i think i tweeted it out some time ago how i liked the idea of nezha building a pillow fort and,, welp here we are now, with a fic entirely made from it hahaaa,,, (also i've been really wanting to write baal being in hannibal's body ever since his fate episode so shh this fic totally wasn't an excuse to do that either-)
> 
> also i realized that i really like putting baal in nezha's lap. so uh, don't be surprised if that shows up again in any future fics whoops-
> 
> anywho, nezha's a dumbass, and i love him for it-
> 
> twitter: @flxmelxnce


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